Asus' RT-AX55 is a great way to dip your foot into Wi-Fi 6 technology without breaking the bank. It’s an especially great choice for users in medium-sized homes who don’t need advanced features like USB ports, wider 160MHz channel support, or game traffic optimization.

That doesn’t mean it can’t handle a busy household, of course, since OFDMA and MU-MIMO support still makes sure that every one of your devices gets its fair share of bandwidth without slowing each other down. It's enough for a couple of devices to enjoy 4K streaming and online gaming.

The Asus RT-AX89X doesn’t come cheap, but it's one of the most capable Wi-Fi 6 routers, with eight powerful antennas delivering ultra-fast wireless speeds that can easily reach gigabit levels at close range. 

It also packs a staggering collection of ports around the edges. There’s a pair of 10Gbps Ethernet and SFP+ ports—a rare inclusion on home routers that will have you more than ready for the fastest internet plans—eight Gigabit Ethernet ports and no less than two 5Gbps USB 3.2 ports join.

The RT-AX89U is a dual-band router, not a tri-band, so even though it supports AiMesh technology, we wouldn’t recommend it for a wireless mesh system. You can, however, use the 10Gbps ports to link two or more of them around your home in a wired configuration to create an extremely high-performance Wi-Fi network. 

The ZenWifi XT8 is a mesh system expressly designed with units that work together to become more significant than the sum of its parts. 

While many mesh Wi-Fi systems focus on simplifying the user experience, the ZenWifi XT8 is one of the most advanced and highly configurable solutions we’ve yet seen. That doesn’t mean it's hard to set up, but power users will love the ability to dig down beneath the configuration wizards and tweak this system to their heart’s content. 

The system supports tri-band Wi-Fi 6, each delivering 2,750 square feet of coverage. This means that you could cover an 8,000-square-foot home with three units. Plus, the system supports AiMesh technology, so you can add most other Asus routers to the system.

ASUS ZenWiFi XT8 AX6600 Review

Asus' GT-AX11000 is one of the most powerful gaming routers, packing in the latest Wi-Fi 6 technologies with combined wireless throughput of up to 10Gbps thanks to its tri-band wireless.

Each of the two 5GHz bands offers 4.8Gbps of bandwidth, with advanced band steering features that let you keep your gaming PC on a separate channel to avoid being dragged down by other 5GHz devices on your network. The eight beamforming antennas can also push a strong enough signal to cover a 5,000-square-foot home. A special 2.5Gbps gaming port joins four Gigabit Ethernet ports around the back, so you can also hardwire your rig for maximum performance. 

Where the GT-AX11000 shines, however, is in the high-performance quad-core CPU that powers its gaming optimization features. There's full VPN support, dynamic game-focused QoS to prioritize your gaming traffic, and the WTFast Gamers Private Network (GPN) to ensure it always goes to the fastest game servers.

The ROG Game Dashboard adds other gamer-centric features like Game Boost, Game IPS security, and route-optimized low latency servers on the GPN, so you'll enjoy lag-free gaming.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Router Review

Unlike most Asus routers, the Blue Cave is designed to be a conversation piece that could fit right into your home decor. The big hole in the middle creates a unique look, and as a bonus, it can glow different shades of blue as the router does.

Don’t let its aesthetics fool you, though, as this little box is a surprisingly capable router in its class. It offers up pretty impressive performance and range when it doesn’t have a single antenna protruding in any direction. It also delivers robust AC2600 dual-band Wi-Fi, reaching up to 1,733Mbps on the 5GHz channel, plus the typical set of four Gigabit Ethernet ports around the back of a single USB 3.0 port for sharing a hard drive or printer.

Thanks to an Asus smartphone app, it’s also a cinch to set up. It also includes the AiProtection security suite to protect your home network from malware and kids from darker corners of the internet. Not only that, but it also supports the same AiMesh technology as other Asus routers.

FAQ

• Should you buy a Wi-Fi 6 router?

  For most people, there’s likely no need to rush out and replace your current router with a Wi-Fi 6 version, as relatively few devices support this newest standard. However, if you’re in the market for a new router, we’d recommend taking the plunge into Wi-Fi 6 since it will be the way for new devices. It’s already supported in Apple’s latest iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Samsung’s flagship smartphones, and Sony’s PlayStation 5. In these cases, you’ll get better performance—especially on busy networks—and even improve your mobile devices' battery life. 
  

• What are the advantages of a gaming router?

  While almost any high-performance router will do just fine for streaming and video calling, gaming requires a different network performance known as low latency. Even today’s fast-paced online games don’t need nearly the same bandwidth as 4K streaming, but they require a router to process all the back-and-forth traffic between the gamer and game servers without delay. Gaming routers pack in powerful CPUs that ensure your games run lag-free, so you won’t find your games stalling just as you’re about to make those critical shots. 
  

• How many Ethernet ports do you need?

  Wi-Fi technology has come a long way in recent years, so you may find that there’s far less of a need to hardwire devices into your router. While devices that don’t include Wi-Fi, like desktop PCs, will naturally need to be plugged in, you’ll likely find that game consoles, smart TVs, and laptops will do just fine on Wi-Fi as long as you have a router that offers the range and bandwidth that you need. Most routers include at least four Ethernet ports, but some of the best Asus routers push that up to eight. Just check that they’re Gigabit Ethernet ports, as all but the most budget-class routers will offer better Wi-Fi performance than Ethernet ports.